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Updates on Flu on Call™ Project Testing

Flu on Call™, a joint NACCHO and CDC project previously titled the “Nurse Triage Line,” has moved into the testing phase. Project partners include United Way 2-1-1 (2-1-1) and the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

Flu on Call™ draws on the unique capabilities of both 2-1-1 and Poison Control Centers (PCCs), turning them into tele-triage sites during a pandemic. Under Flu on Call™, 2-1-1 specialists receive and divert calls, while skilled PCC nurses and pharmacists assess patients for influenza-like illness and prescribe antiviral medications, when appropriate.

On May 20 and 22, NACCHO staff attended all-day exercises held at CDC, during which they helped test the 2-1-1 piece of Flu on CallTM. Around 40 volunteers, including three NACCHO staff members, received scripts in order to simulate the kinds of calls that 2-1-1 centers would receive if Flu on Call™ were implemented. Each testing phase was followed by a hotwash.

The exercises were successful, due in large part to the training and experience of the 2-1-1 call center specialists. The Poison Control Center piece of Flu on Call™ will be tested in late June.

About Erin Roberts

Erin Roberts, MPH, is a Program Analyst on the Environmental Health, Pandemic Preparedness, and Catastrophic Response team at NACCHO. Her work includes broadening the public's access to medical countermeasures during a severe pandemic, fostering collaboration between public health and pharmacy, and contributing to NACCHO's food safety initiatives.

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